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Ericsson names three new inventors of the year

Three Ericsson employees who submitted in all 275 patents within radio technology have been named “Inventors of the Year.” It is the 17th consecutive year that Ericsson puts the spotlight on individuals with exceptional ideas and contributions to the company’s industry-leading patent portfolio.

The Inventors of the year are Thomas Cheng, Paul Schliwa-Bertling, and Iana Siomina. Gustav Brismark, Vice President of Patent Strategy and Portfolio at Ericsson, said: “Substantial R&D efforts and creative inventors have ensured our position as the number-one patent holder in mobile telecom. This is true for GSM and WCDMA, and continue into LTE. The Inventor of the Year Award is an important means of acknowledging outstanding contribution to these valuable company assets.”

Each inventor works in research in radio technology, but with a different emphasis.

Thomas Cheng, based in San Jose, California, invented technology relating to channel coding and receiver algorithms, enabling more efficient communication between wireless devices and radio base stations. Of winning the award, he said: “A single great invention can transform a very difficult problem into real applications and bring real benefits to the end user and value to the economy. That’s why Ericsson should train and nurture innovative engineers in the company.”

Paul Schliwa-Bertling works in the Swedish city of Linköping. His work led to patents within GSM among others in optimizing machine-to-machine communication. He found new ways to introduce service awareness to radio access networks, supporting operators in optimizing resource utlization and giving different priority levels to various types of devices. Schliwa-Bertling says: “Working on patents, you can drive the technology development and keep the position as technology leader. Without patents, you have to depend on other companies. This is a sign that we are looking into the future.”

Iana Siomina’s inventions relate mainly to positioning and to heterogeneous network (HetNet) deployments. Many of the patented solutions have been standardized. She works in Kista, north of Stockholm. She says: “My work is closely related to standardization, and thus many of the ideas are standard-essential. Working in standards with new technologies, one has to be innovative for the best of the technology. For Ericsson, being a patent leader is a true sign of innovation, strong contribution to the technology development and competitive products, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Besides being in the spotlight this year, the three inventors share the trait of motivating their fellow team members. Brismark says: “Thomas, Paul and Iana are remarkable not only as inventors themselves, but they also encourage their team members in coming up with ideas and supporting the applications of other inventions, enhancing the overall value of our patent portfolio.”

The Inventors were brought onstage with Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg during his address to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, held in northern Stockholm on 3 May 2012.